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240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 28, 2021
“I’m terrified that, if we keep screaming into the past, the future is going to be nothing but an echo.”
Our bond might have been forged through tragedy, but our love flourished through patience, genuine respect, and understanding.
I saved the wrong woman. I left the mother of my child in a burning building. My final broken promise to the woman I’d vowed forever to was, ❝I’ll be right back.❞
sᴏɴɢ ʀᴇᴄ ♫ - Burning Down the House (TALKING HEADS)✨(◕▿◕✿)
this be me anytime i even think about Cam&Cam
-ˏˋ ✔ [𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓭 ⋆ 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 ⋆ 𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓼𝓽] ✔ ˊˎ-
not gonna lie, the main reason i picked up FROM THE EMBERS was because of that angsty as hell synopsis. i mean COME ON how great does this sound -In the aftermath of tragedy, it’s strange the things you remember.
The deafening boom as the house exploded.
The paralyzing fear as I searched for my wife.
The blinding smoke burning my eyes as I carried her out.
But carved into my soul for the rest of my days would be the earth-shattering realization that the woman in my arms wasn’t my wife.
hint, it sounds FUCKING AMAZING. the angst people, all the angst. and honestly that scene was heart wrenching. not only was the mini-twist really well done, but the whole "dress thing" really put a whole new meaning on BFFs swapping clothes. there was high potential for drama, angst, grief, and self-loathing. see, not only did Eason save Bree instead of his wife, but Jennifer (or Jessica???) was Bree's best friend. likewise, Robert was Eason's childhood best friend. can't you guys just smell the heartbreak from here?? i loved the set-up of having Eason and Bree basically become a pseudo couple and deciding to raise their kids together. watching Eason and Bree prop each other up during their grief was one of the best aspects of the book. i just wish it had stayed that way. . .
-ˏˋ ✔ [𝓯𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵𝔂 ⋆ 𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓰𝓪𝓷𝓼] ✔ ˊˎ-
hands down the best part of FROM THE EMBERS was all the family stuff happening. now as a reader my opinions on family shenanigans has greatly ebbed and flowed. when i first started reading romance i was what. . . oh dear lord - 10?!?! yeah, so, i was pretty young, thus, i had no real interest in reading about adults taking care of kids. as i've gotten older that sentiment has remained somewhat consistent. honestly, it really depends on the kid(s). i cannot stand when authors write these "wise-beyond-their-years-30something-year-old-5-year olds." i just can't. however, when it hits just right the family stuff will stab me right in the feels. here, . . . yeah, i got a bit choked up and "awwwhhhhed" a bunch.
i mean this whole scene -❝Uncle Eason wears crop tops when he misses Aunt Jessica.❞
Her eyebrows shot up her forehead as she turned a suspicious gaze on me. I quickly waved him off.
❝No. We were kidding. It was a whole story. You had to be there.❞
was both hilarious and tear jerking. ALY MARTINEZ has been consistently great at writing kids into her stories. so, 10/10 for the kids + family stuff.
-ˏˋ ✘ [𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓮 & 𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓸𝓷] ✘ ˊˎ-
hmmmmm. . . sooo. . . i've gotta ask -can you really love a romance when you dislike // are meh about the main characters?
i mean, you can, but for the sake of your mental health you shouldn't. personally, i started out kinda liking Bree & Eason. they seemed like intriguing characters, their personal history was interesting, and they seemed to have a real opposites attack (lol i meant attract) vibe going on.we have Bree - the super organized well-put together lady boss ✨
which. . . i mean, sure.and Eason - the "slacker" musician who wants nothing more than to share his music with the world. ✨
that's pure sexy right there
on paper that sounds like an interesting combination! in practice. . . meh. idk, if it's me or what, but dear lord i STRUGGLED to feel the chemistry between Eason and Bree. S-T-R-U-G-G-L-E-D. this is probably one of the few times where i thought the MCs should've stayed friends. simply put, i liked their dynamic wayyyy better as friends -❝I’m sorry,❞ I whispered. ❝I shouldn’t have called you today, and then—❞
He tilted his head my way, his warm, brown eyes snapping to mine.
❝Yes, you should have. I’m exactly who you should have called, and I’m glad you did.❞
so when Bree started having sex dreams about Eason i was out here like -
i couldn't help but ask, since when! and also, W H Y? basically both characters were boring as individuals and they were even more boring together.
-ˏˋ ✘ [𝓽𝓱𝓮 ⋆ 𝓽𝔀𝓲𝓼𝓽] ✘ ˊˎ-
now if you guys have never read an ALY MARTINEZ romance before well, first, wth are you doing with your life, but also, you need to know that they ALWAYS have a big "plot twist." always. sometimes they work. see RECLAIM. sometimes they don't. this book is the latter.✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦LOOK AWAY, SPOILERS, HIDE YOUR INNOCENT EYES!✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
✦ sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴀʟᴇʀᴛ ✦
okay so, the big plot twist here is this, Jessica (or is it Jennifer) Eason's dead wife, and Robert, Bree's dead husband, were doing the nasty on the sly for YEARS. i'm talking y-e-a-r-s. they were having sex so long that Luna - Eason's daughter - might not even be his. first off, OUCH, and second, are you fucking kidding me. here was my visceral reaction when the twist was revealed, truly, this was my face -
to say i was #NotImpressed is a GD understatement. basically, what this plot did was shit all over any angst, grief, or drama that had been taking place. to me it seemed like ALY MARTINEZ just didn't want to go there. she didn't want to add the angst of having two people fall in love with each other with such interconnected pasts. and honestly, it was a huge miss. because seriously, not even five pages later, Eason's thinking shit like this -But at the end of the day, I’d never allowed myself to go there with Bree because she hadn’t belonged to me. She’d been Rob’s, and him being gone hadn’t changed that. But you know what did change it? Rob’s being a piece-of-shit bastard who’d crossed every line that had ever been drawn in the sand. All bets were off. Guy code or whatever the fuck you wanted to call it. It was done now.
like, ugggghhh, great, now the angst is gone! she should've just made everyone get a divorce or something. that would've been juicier. so, yeah, the twist just didn't work for me. i tried for a couple of more pages but my heart wasn't in it.